As
a legislator in Jefferson City, Winnie Weber was known for her blunt
talk, short skirts and a fondness for drink. For years, she held the
unofficial but undisputed title of Life of the Party.

She was chairwoman of the House higher education committee and proud of
her work to promote what now is Truman State University in Kirksville.

She died Tuesday (Feb. 9, 2010) at her home in Eminence, Mo., at age 73.
She was recently bedridden with arthritis and osteoporosis, her family
said.

A former teacher, Ms. Weber was a state representative from Jefferson
County for a total of 16 years in the 1970s and '80s. In a county where
politics is considered a full-contact sport, she fit right in.

"Bottom line, Hon, is that I'm just country folk," she said for a 1991
profile in the Post-Dispatch. "And country folk just tend to go off and
do things and then ask later if they should've done it."

Winifred Pauline Faulkenberry was born in the Bible Belt on the Fourth
of July in 1936, according to driver's license records, the third oldest
of seven children.

The family moved when she was young to Eminence in Shannon County, where
her father, a land surveyor, was elected mayor.

He had a habit of driving around town with pine seedlings in his car,
stopping, getting out and planting a pine tree. It didn't matter that it
was on somebody else's property.

Winnie likewise had a mind of her own.

When her high school held a Miss Eminence contest, Winnie announced that
there was no sense in anyone else running because she had already bought
her dress for the occasion. Declaring herself the winner, she and her
girlfriends built their own float.

She graduated from Southwest Missouri State and earned a master's at the
University of Missouri-Columbia.

After a brief marriage at a young age, she divorced and moved to House
Springs. There, she rented a guest house on the property of Jefferson
County Magistrate Glenn Weber, a powerhouse in the local Republican
Party.

Weber fell for the 23-year-old schoolteacher with shapely legs,
vivacious personality and raven hair — she had not yet turned blond.
Although recently married, Weber got out of that marriage and married
Winnie.

It didn't last long. Republican Weber and Democrat Winnie would go to
bed and talk politics. Before long, one of them would end up sleeping on
the couch.

In 1970, at 33 and divorced, she ran for the Legislature, campaigning in
a red Corvette convertible.

By then, she knew nearly everyone in northern Jefferson County, either
through Weber or by having taught voters' children.

She won, and won re-election two years later. In 1974, she ran for the
state Senate and lost in the Democratic primary. She regained her House
seat in 1976 and held it until 1988.

She decorated her office with photographs: Winnie dressed like Wonder
Woman; Winnie with a smiling Lyndon Johnson; and, of course, Winnie in
low-cut gowns.

Her office was a gathering place for legislators, regardless of party
affiliation, lobbyists and reporters. It was a favorite stopover for
Republican Gov. Christopher "Kit" Bond, now a U.S. senator.

"Winnie was a powerful advocate for her constituents, and a great ally
to have on your side." Bond said Thursday.

Supporters said she was smart and deeply committed to advancing
education in the state but figured she needed short skirts and blond
hair to make the ol' boy network feel comfortable with her.

"She was a wildcat, and jumped out of a cake at the end of one
(legislative) session," recalled a brother, Paul Faulkenberry, mayor of
Eminence.

Ms. Weber herself made no bones about it: "Not only did I not avoid
parties, I was the one who started them — and I was the one who'd be
dancing on the table at it."

After an arrest for DWI in 1988, she lost her re-election bid. She tried
again in 1990, but failed.

She returned to Eminence to open Winfield's, a bar, restaurant, store
and her home, built from a rehabbed antique drugstore. Her brother said
she hadn't had a drink in more than 20 years.

She never remarried, but in 1983, she met Buddy Lucas, who made millions
selling textbooks at university bookstores. He was married but already
separated. Winnie and Buddy lived together until 1990, when he died.

"I miss him very much," she said in the Post profile, and built a stone
bench so she could sit next to his crypt in Columbia, Mo.

She returned one day to find her bench facing a missing crypt. Buddy's
body has never been found.

"She died not knowing where he is buried," Paul Faulkenberry said.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 20 at Chapel Hill Mortuary & Memorial
Gardens, 6300 Highway 30, Cedar Hill. Visitation will start at 11 a.m.
that morning. Burial will be at the mortuary's cemetery.

In addition to her brother, survivors include two other brothers, Joe
Faulkenberry of Eminence and V.T. Faulkenberry of Virginia Beach, Va.;
and a sister, Paulette Williams of Eminence.

Winnie would have loved this story, BUT she
would have called you bright and early,
around 10 a.m., to correct the awful
mistakes on dates. Winnie was truly one of a
kind. She made some mistakes but she
overcame her addiction and, in her final
performance she created something worthwhile
in Eminence. Still, I find it fitting that
she chose to come "home" to Jefferson County
for her final goodbye. I won't tell you what
she made me promise to do at her funeral.
May she rest in peace.
CM
May she truly rest in peace.

We must add, that as a freshman rep, Winnie
was responsible for the passage of two
critical bills that set the standard for
nursing home care in Missouri and education
of developmentally disabled students. With
an IQ of 150 Winnie knew how to cross the
aisle and use a party to get a lot of work
done. She was truly always a champion of the
innocents.

The family will receive friends and family
members at Chapel Hill Mortuary and Memorial
Gardens, 6300 Hwy 30, Cedar Hill, MO, 63016
at 11:00am to 2:00pm, Saturday, 20 Feb 2010.
The funeral will be conducted at 2:00 pm in
the Chapel Hill chapel. Interment will
follow in the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens
cemetery. The family will share private
visitation at 10:00am.